Perfect Labor Storm 2.0 is a blog that highlights workforce trends, demographic shifts, and human resources changes that will change the way employers do business.

January 2009

January 15, 2009

By definition, high impact businesses are high growth businesses. A high degree of change is necessary in high impact businesses to respond to market pressures: demand for improved delivery of services, global influences, rapid changes in technologies and increased competitiveness. But a traditional employment model doesn’t allow businesses to be agile enough to adapt quickly to changing business needs and conditions.

Existing employees often lack the skill sets and competencies needed for new business, and training for new skills isn’t always an effective option in a fast-paced environment. High labor costs as a percentage of the cost of doing business makes it imperative that businesses maximize their return on investment in people. Added to these challenges, employers are losing their ability to respond to business issues as experienced employees retire and take with them the institutional wisdom that they bring to the conference table.

Not only are many high impact businesses caught in this “war for talent,” but turnover rates combined with rising retirement rates foretell future difficulties in having the talent on-hand to meet growing and changing business conditions.

Read more about how just for a one percent decrease in turnover, every company could realize annual savings between $400,000 and $4 million depending upon the size of the company. Even for a company with as few as 64 employees, savings averages approximately $8,000 by reducing employee turnover by 1 percentage point.

Until recently, Jonathan Bernstein, a baby boomer and small business ownerin the Los Angeles area, had plans to “semi-retire.” On turning 60 in 2011, Bernstein had hoped to cut his workload in half, and he and his wife were contemplating purchasing a home in a state with a lower cost of living than California. But those plans have been scuttled now that the couple has seen values dwindle on both their home and Bernstein’s self-employed pension plan. Bernstein says his pension plan has dropped about 25 to 30 percent.

The American Sociological Journal Context reports that today 46 percent of women and 31 percent of men have finished school, left home, gotten married, had a child or become financially independent by age 30.

But contrast that with 1960 when 77 percent of women and 65 percent of men left their parent's nest!

In other words, young people are growing up more slowly than they did 50 years ago.

January 08, 2009

With all the negative news about the economy and the preposterous bonuses and salaries that executives continue to receive for tanking their companies, it's hard not to get angry. But here's a heart-wrenching story that should put a smile on your face.

January 07, 2009

A study released Tuesday from CareerCast.com, a new job site, evaluates 200 professions to determine the best and worst according to five criteria inherent to every job: environment, income, employment outlook, physical demands and stress.

According to the study, mathematicians fared best in part because they typically work in favorable conditions -- indoors and in places free of toxic fumes or noise -- unlike those toward the bottom of the list like sewage-plant operator, painter and bricklayer. They also aren't expected to do any heavy lifting, crawling or crouching -- attributes associated with occupations such as firefighter, auto mechanic and plumber.

The study also considers pay, which was determined by measuring each job's median income and growth potential.